You could see the humor in Larry's eyes. He did not seem to miss a joke--either rolling his eyes at the stupidity of it, or thoroughly enjoying it. He was an adept escape artist, who spent much of his time watching staffers, ever looking for that distraction that would give him the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
Larry enjoyed being himself. His favored activities were bouncing on a large ball in the back of the room or looking through a favored book and/or the automotive section of the want ads. He also enjoyed looking at cars in the parking lot,
checking out the make and models.
Larry constantly flickered his fingers. It was a self-stimulation that may have provided a sense of rhythm as well as a sense of calm, synchronizing his body and mind; however, when I worked with Larry, I would insist that he stop twiddling temporarily. It was apparent, I could not compete with this process which also served as an effective tool to tune out
outside stimuli, including me.
We called Larry "Professor". The first time he typed for me, he said, "I am smarter than you are." I was in full agreement, still am. (Initially, I provided wrist support. Overtime, he just needed me to hold the device as he hit the keys independently. He was also adept at choosing responses form a field of choices if he was in my proximity.) I gave him an Internet IQ test that only required true or false answers. As expected, he got all the answers right, that I knew, were right. Did he know them all? Did he get them through thought prompts or subtle cuing? Was it a little bit of both? I knew he was extremely sensitive to mental prompts, and like many others, he could type word for word what I sent to him if I intentionally did so. Once again, I did not know what was coming from me, what was coming from him, what he was gleaning from others in the room, or what was coming from a higher state of consciousness. His repetitive directive to me was "Open your heart and join." (See article: "Facilitated Communication--Entangled Fields of Subconscious Thought."
A student volunteer started writing a different philosophical quote on my chalkboard each morning. Larry always seemed to take them in with appreciation. The volunteer was studying calculus and asked me why I did not teach mathematics to Larry. I lamented that though Larry appeared to learn math very easily and seemed to have a propensity for it, I did not feel I had the time; most of my focus was on language, movement, and adaptive daily living skills. I went on to show him how Larry, even with my limited instruction, seemed to instantaneously know the answers to mathematic calculations if given the opportunity to choose the answer from a field of choices. One time, I noticed Larry's askance glances and bemused looks as he watched someone multiply a four digit number multiplied by a four digit number using a traditional method which gave me the impression that he was amazed at the person's inadequacy. Nonetheless, the problem was the same as with other other students; he seemed dependent on me knowing the answers.
The student volunteer persisted. So I thought I would demonstrate Larry's dependence. The trial consisted of the volunteer knowing the answers to to the questions. I was not privy to the information. The volunteer suggested that we do exponents so I did my best to explain to Larry what they were and did a few with him so he could get the idea. The volunteer then took the calculator to find the answers to more complex problems, like seven to the ninth power and so on. He then wrote the correct answer and three wrong answers on slips of paper and handed them to me. I put them in front of Larry and he selected the correct answer. Several more trials were done, and again Larry was successful. Did Larry really know the answers? Had he tapped into the volunteer who knew the answers and was sitting about five feet away? Did he just get lucky? I don't know, but I believe that each scenario is possible, as is a combination. (I had experienced a third-party connection with this student before, which I mentioned in the article "Facilitated Communication - Possibility of Third Party Influence.")
I attempted to get Larry to override my thoughts. I explained to him what I was trying to do and why, reiterating that I wanted him to be able to express his own thoughts and wishes. For example, he loved to swing so I would say: "Do you want to go on the swing?" Then I would send the letters "no", hoping that he would type, "yes" as I knew that is what he really wanted to do. The process was mildly successful.
Larry's sensory channels seemed severely disconnected. He could match what he saw and what he could match what he touched, but he could not combine the two. For example, I put a ball, block, scissors, marker, and a bottle of glue in an opaque bag. I then put a similar ball in his hand and asked him to reach in the bag and select the same item. He was able to do it. Subsequently, I did the same with the other objects and again he was successful. He could match touch to touch just as he could visual to visual. I then showed him the ball and requested he select the ball from the bag without touching it, and he could not do it. I did the same with the other objects with the same result. Some of my other students initially had the same difficulty, but with practice they improved. Unfortunately, Larry continued to have difficulty with this task. (See article: "Movement, Rhythm and Sensory Disturbances Affect Perceptual Reality.")
Lessons and Suppositions:
o Some students may be privy to everything I know.
o Some students pick up information from other people in the room even if they are not the ones serving as an agent or facilitator.
o Some may have savant-type abilities besides those related to spirituality--such as science, mathematics, music, and philosophy--but appear to need an agent fully versed in those areas to express them.
o Even when students have different areas of interest and competency, they appear to be limited by the agent's knowledge base. Example: He could not type in Italian with me because I cannot speak Italian, but he probably could with a facilitator or agent in his proximity who could. The same might be said about nuclear physics.
o If you connect with students by matching vibrations and then lowering yours by staying present and grounded, some kids will lower their vibration with you. This process seemed to increase Larry's ability to interact with more people. Larry began interacting better with the speech therapist and other staff members. If the variance of vibration frequency is too vast, the necessary blending seems not to occur.
Some student's willingness to participate appears to improve when you explain what you are trying to accomplish helps.
o You may be receive inner wisdom through meditation, which may or may not be influenced by individuals with autism.
o Some kids seem to get pleasure staying just the way they are and may resist lowering their vibration to a point where integration occurs.
o Even within the realm of nonverbal communications, different levels of capability and interest appear to emerge.
I have served as a teacher of individuals with autism for 18 years. What they have taught me was to be sure of nothing, and open myself to the extraordinary. The emphasis of my material is on the currently unexplainable phenomena I have experienced. I have submitted my articles and anecdotes in various categories. Please check them out and recommend them to anyone you feel might be interested. Comments are appreciated. Mary Ann Harrington
http://web.mac.com/maharrington
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